USA₮ Picks Celo as First Expansion Chain Beyond Ethereum

Ted Hisokawa Mar 31, 2026 13:33

Tether-backed regulated stablecoin USA₮ launches on Celo, bringing federally compliant digital dollars to the network's 4.23M weekly active users.

USA₮, the federally regulated stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, will deploy on Celo as its first blockchain expansion beyond Ethereum. The move puts the $19.1 million market cap stablecoin on the network that's become the dominant transport layer for USD₮, processing transactions for 4.23 million weekly active users.

The timing matters. Celo has seen USD₮ users grow 506% over the past year, and Opera's MiniPay wallet—built exclusively on Celo—has onboarded 14 million users who've collectively executed over 420 million transactions. USA₮ will tap directly into that infrastructure.

What Makes This Different

Unlike offshore stablecoins, USA₮ is issued by the first federally chartered digital asset bank in the United States. Reserves sit with Cantor Fitzgerald in short-term U.S. Treasury Bills, and the whole structure is designed around GENIUS Act compliance. That regulatory clarity is increasingly valuable as institutions eye stablecoin exposure.

Self Protocol will launch alongside as a Day One partner, running what they're calling the first mainnet faucet distributing regulated stablecoins through a privacy-preserving identity layer. Users verify identity through Self's app using biometric passports, get cleared against OFAC sanctions lists via zero-knowledge proofs, and receive USA₮ without exposing raw personal data. Google Cloud is providing the faucet infrastructure.

Gas Fee Integration Coming

Celo pioneered fee abstraction—letting users pay transaction fees in ERC-20 tokens instead of requiring native tokens. Nearly half of all Celo users already pay gas with USD₮. Following the USA₮ launch, Celo Core Co. will push governance proposals to enable both USA₮ and Tether Gold (XAUt0) as accepted gas currencies.

That XAUt0 detail is worth noting: the tokenized gold product has accumulated over 85,000 holders on Celo since its September 2025 deployment, more than any other chain globally.

Strategic Positioning

"USA₮ is designed to operate in environments where digital dollars are already being used at scale," said Bo Hines, CEO of Tether USA₮. The Celo deployment gives the regulated stablecoin immediate access to established DeFi protocols including Morpho, Aave, Velodrome, and Uniswap.

Opera's EVP Mobile Jørgen Arnesen confirmed MiniPay will support USA₮, extending the company's existing Tether partnership deeper into the regulated stablecoin space.

With USA₮ circulation recently reported at 8.6% growth and Celo processing over 700,000 daily users, this integration creates a meaningful bridge between U.S. regulatory frameworks and emerging market stablecoin adoption. The governance proposals for gas currency status will be the next milestones to watch.

• usa₮
• celo
• stablecoin
• tether
• defi